{"id":7841,"date":"2013-09-06T23:19:47","date_gmt":"2013-09-06T23:19:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.mometrix.com\/academy\/?page_id=7841"},"modified":"2026-06-02T11:44:49","modified_gmt":"2026-06-02T16:44:49","slug":"present-perfect-past-perfect-and-future-perfect-verb-tenses","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.mometrix.com\/academy\/present-perfect-past-perfect-and-future-perfect-verb-tenses\/","title":{"rendered":"Verb Tenses"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\t\t\t<div id=\"mmDeferVideoEncompass_4PAPdRHXnnA\" style=\"position: relative;\">\n\t\t\t<picture>\n\t\t\t\t<source srcset=\"https:\/\/www.mometrix.com\/academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/circle-play-duotone.webp\" type=\"image\/webp\">\n\t\t\t\t<source srcset=\"https:\/\/www.mometrix.com\/academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/circle-play-duotone.png\" type=\"image\/jpeg\"> \n\t\t\t\t<img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"eager\" id=\"videoThumbnailImage_4PAPdRHXnnA\" data-source-videoID=\"4PAPdRHXnnA\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mometrix.com\/academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/circle-play-duotone.png\" alt=\"Verb Tenses Video\" height=\"464\" width=\"825\" class=\"size-full\" data-matomo-title = \"Verb Tenses\">\n\t\t\t<\/picture>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<style>img#videoThumbnailImage_4PAPdRHXnnA:hover {cursor:pointer;} img#videoThumbnailImage_4PAPdRHXnnA {background-size:contain;background-image:url(\"https:\/\/www.mometrix.com\/academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/updated-verb-tenses-64bff9c561da2.webp\");}<\/style>\n\t\t\t<script defer>\n\t\t\t  jQuery(\"img#videoThumbnailImage_4PAPdRHXnnA\").click(function() {\n\t\t\t\tlet videoId = jQuery(this).attr(\"data-source-videoID\");\n\t\t\t\tlet helpTag = '<div id=\"mmDeferVideoYTMessage_4PAPdRHXnnA\" style=\"display: none;position: absolute;top: -24px;width: 100%;text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;font-size: small;border-top: 1px solid #fc0;\">Having trouble? <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v='+videoId+'\" target=\"_blank\">Click here to watch on YouTube.<\/a><\/span><\/div>';\n\t\t\t\tlet tag = document.createElement(\"iframe\");\n\t\t\t\ttag.id = \"yt\" + videoId;\n\t\t\t\ttag.src = \"https:\/\/www.youtube-nocookie.com\/embed\/\" + videoId + \"?autoplay=1&controls=1&wmode=opaque&rel=0&egm=0&iv_load_policy=3&hd=0&enablejsapi=1\";\n\t\t\t\ttag.frameborder = 0;\n\t\t\t\ttag.allow = \"autoplay; fullscreen\";\n\t\t\t\ttag.width = this.width;\n\t\t\t\ttag.height = this.height;\n\t\t\t\ttag.setAttribute(\"data-matomo-title\",\"Verb Tenses\");\n\t\t\t\tjQuery(\"div#mmDeferVideoEncompass_4PAPdRHXnnA\").html(tag);\n\t\t\t\tjQuery(\"div#mmDeferVideoEncompass_4PAPdRHXnnA\").prepend(helpTag);\n\t\t\t\tsetTimeout(function(){jQuery(\"div#mmDeferVideoYTMessage_4PAPdRHXnnA\").css(\"display\", \"block\");}, 2000);\n\t\t\t  });\n\t\t\t  \n\t\t\t<\/script>\n\t\t\n<p><script>\nfunction 6F8_Function() {\n  var x = document.getElementById(\"6F8\");\n  if (x.style.display === \"none\") {\n    x.style.display = \"block\";\n  } else {\n    x.style.display = \"none\";\n  }\n}\n<\/script><\/p>\n<div class=\"moc-toc hide-on-desktop hide-on-tablet\">\n<div><button onclick=\"6F8_Function()\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mometrix.com\/academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/toc2.svg\" width=\"16\" height=\"16\" alt=\"show or hide table of contents\"><\/button><\/p>\n<p>On this page<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<nav id=\"6F8\" style=\"display:none;\">\n<ul>\n<li class=\"toc-h2\"><a href=\"#Present_Perfect\" class=\"smooth-scroll\">Present Perfect<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"toc-h2\"><a href=\"#Past_Perfect\" class=\"smooth-scroll\">Past Perfect<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"toc-h2\"><a href=\"#Future_Perfect\" class=\"smooth-scroll\">Future Perfect<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"toc-h2\"><a href=\"#Verb_Tense_Practice_Questions\" class=\"smooth-scroll\">Verb Tense Practice Questions<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/nav>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"accordion\"><input id=\"transcript\" type=\"checkbox\" class=\"spoiler_button\" \/><label for=\"transcript\">Transcript<\/label><input id=\"PQs\" type=\"checkbox\" class=\"spoiler_button\" \/><label for=\"PQs\">Practice<\/label>\n<div class=\"spoiler\" id=\"transcript-spoiler\">\n<p>Today we\u2019re going to be talking about the difference between <b>present perfect<\/b>, <b>past perfect<\/b>, and <b>future perfect<\/b> verb tenses. <\/p>\n<p>Remember that <a class=\"ylist\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mometrix.com\/academy\/action-verbs-and-linking-verbs\/\">verbs<\/a> are words that describe an action, occurrence, or state of being. The tense of a verb refers to the time of the action or state of being. The perfect form is the verb tense used to talk about a completed action or condition and always uses a form of \u201chave\u201d or \u201chad,\u201d plus the past participle. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Participles<\/strong> are words made out of verbs but used as adjectives. In English, participles are also sometimes used to form compound words like \u201cis going.\u201d A past participle, in the context we\u2019re using it today, is the second part of a compound verb that\u2019s used to form perfect and passive tenses. Past participles usually end in <em>-ed<\/em>. <\/p>\n<p>Verbs can appear in any one of three perfect tenses: present perfect, past perfect, and future perfect. <\/p>\n<h2><span id=\"Present_Perfect\" class=\"m-toc-anchor\"><\/span>Present Perfect<\/h2>\n<p>\nLet\u2019s start by talking about present perfect verbs. The present perfect tense expresses an action that began in the past and is now completed in the present. Take a look at this equation:<\/p>\n<div class=\"transcriptcallout\"><span class=\"transcriptcallout-text\">Present tense of <em>have<\/em> + past participle = present perfect tense<\/span><\/div>\n<h3><span id=\"Present_Perfect_Tense_Example\" class=\"m-toc-anchor\"><\/span>Present Perfect Tense Example<\/h3>\n<p>We can put those elements into practice in the following sentence.<\/p>\n<div class=\"transcriptcallout\"><span class=\"transcriptcallout-text\">I have finished my homework already.<\/span><\/div>\n<p>We know this sentence is written in the perfect tense for two reasons. First, we see that it is talking about a completed action: \u201cI have finished my homework.\u201d There\u2019s our <em>-ed<\/em> past participle, and it\u2019s telling us that the job is completed. The second hint we have that it\u2019s the perfect tense is the word <em>have<\/em>. Remember, the perfect form is a verb tense that uses a form of <em>have<\/em> or <em>had<\/em> plus a past participle. <\/p>\n<p>In this sentence, <em>have finished<\/em> tells us that the finishing action began in the past but is now completed in the present. We can see that the sentence used <em>have<\/em> instead of <em>had,<\/em> so we know it\u2019s present perfect tense, not past perfect.<\/p>\n<h2><span id=\"Past_Perfect\" class=\"m-toc-anchor\"><\/span>Past Perfect<\/h2>\n<p>\nThe past perfect tense expresses an action that began in the past and was completed in the past before something else occurred. The past perfect equation looks like this:<\/p>\n<div class=\"transcriptcallout\"><span class=\"transcriptcallout-text\">Past tense of <em>had<\/em> + past participle =  past perfect tense<\/span><\/div>\n<h3><span id=\"Past_Perfect_Example\" class=\"m-toc-anchor\"><\/span>Past Perfect Example<\/h3>\n<p>Here\u2019s a sentence with past perfect tense.<\/p>\n<div class=\"transcriptcallout\"><span class=\"transcriptcallout-text\">Paul tried to hide the vase because he had broken it.<\/span><\/div>\n<p>Right away, our eyes should be drawn to the past perfect phrase <em>had broken<\/em>. There\u2019s our past tense <em>had<\/em> and our past participle. You may notice that <em>broken<\/em> is not an <em>-ed<\/em> verb, but it\u2019s still a past participle; it just conjugates differently than the <em>-ed<\/em> verbs we\u2019ve looked at so far. This also happens with words like <em>ate<\/em> and <em>shaken<\/em>. The sentence is describing something that began in the past and was completed before something else occurred. Paul broke the vase. The action is complete, therefore the tense is perfect, and it happened in the past, therefore the word <em>had<\/em> appears in our equation.<\/p>\n<h2><span id=\"Future_Perfect\" class=\"m-toc-anchor\"><\/span>Future Perfect<\/h2>\n<p>\nThe future perfect tense expresses an action that will be completed by some specified point in the future. This equation is a little more exciting.<\/p>\n<div class=\"transcriptcallout\"><span class=\"transcriptcallout-text\"><em>Will<\/em> or <em>shall<\/em> + have + past participle = future perfect tense<\/span><\/div>\n<h3><span id=\"Future_Perfect_Tense_Example\" class=\"m-toc-anchor\"><\/span>Future Perfect Tense Example<\/h3>\n<p>Here\u2019s a <a class=\"ylist\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mometrix.com\/academy\/intro-to-sentence-types\/\">sentence<\/a> with future perfect tense.<\/p>\n<div class=\"transcriptcallout\"><span class=\"transcriptcallout-text\">Do you think the lunchroom will have cooked enough rice?<\/span><\/div>\n<p>First, we notice the two elements we\u2019ve learned to expect from the perfect tense: a version of <em>have<\/em> or <em>had<\/em>, and a past participle, in this case, the <em>-ed<\/em> verb <em>cooked<\/em>. You might be tempted to think this was present perfect tense based on our earlier equation, but be careful to look first in front of the word <em>have<\/em> to make sure it\u2019s not future perfect. Sure enough, the entirety of the phrase reads <em>will have cooked<\/em>. <\/p>\n<p>This tells us that we\u2019re talking about an action that\u2019s not done yet, but will be done in the future at a specific time. Take, for example, the following phrases:<\/p>\n<div class=\"transcriptcallout\">\n<span class=\"transcriptcallout-text\">By the end of the night, Mary will have danced for three hours.<\/span><br \/>\n<span class=\"transcriptcallout-text\">In two years, I will have saved $2,000.<\/span>\n<\/div>\n<p>In both these examples, the reader is standing in the present without evidence of a completed action, but we can be sure that both of those things will be done in the future, thus the past participles <em>danced<\/em> and <em>saved<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>It may sound complicated, but if you remember these three grammar equations and acquaint yourself with common past participles, you\u2019ll have a solid understanding of present perfect, past perfect, and future perfect tenses.<\/p>\n<p>I hope this overview was helpful!<\/p>\n<p>See you next time!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"spoiler\" id=\"PQs-spoiler\">\n<h2 style=\"text-align:center\"><span id=\"Verb_Tense_Practice_Questions\" class=\"m-toc-anchor\"><\/span>Verb Tense Practice Questions<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"PQ\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<strong>Question #1:<\/strong>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div style=\"margin-left:10px;\"><p>&nbsp;<br \/>\nWhich verb tense is being used in the following sentence?<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">My sister has read that book at least 20 times.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"PQ-Choices\"><div class=\"PQ\"  id=\"PQ-1-1\">Past perfect<\/div><div class=\"PQ correct_answer\"  id=\"PQ-1-2\">Present perfect<\/div><div class=\"PQ\"  id=\"PQ-1-3\">Future perfect<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<input id=\"PQ-1\" type=\"checkbox\" class=\"spoiler_button\" \/><label for=\"PQ-1\" style=\"width: 150px;\">Show Answer<\/label>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"answer\" id=\"PQ-1-spoiler\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<strong>Answer:<\/strong><div style=\"margin-left:10px;\"><p>The present perfect tense is formed by combining the word <em>have\/has<\/em> with the past participle in order to express an action that began in the past and is now completed in the present. In this case, the word <em>has<\/em> is paired with the past participle <em>read<\/em>, creating a sentence that uses the present perfect tense.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<input id=\"PQ-1-hide\" type=\"checkbox\" class=\"spoiler_button\" \/><label for=\"PQ-1-hide\" style=\"width: 150px;\">Hide Answer<\/label>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"PQ\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<strong>Question #2:<\/strong>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div style=\"margin-left:10px;\"><p>&nbsp;<br \/>\nWhich verb tense is being used in the following sentence?<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Caleb will have finished all of his chores before dinner.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"PQ-Choices\"><div class=\"PQ\"  id=\"PQ-2-1\">Past perfect<\/div><div class=\"PQ\"  id=\"PQ-2-2\">Present perfect<\/div><div class=\"PQ correct_answer\"  id=\"PQ-2-3\">Future perfect<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<input id=\"PQ-2\" type=\"checkbox\" class=\"spoiler_button\" \/><label for=\"PQ-2\" style=\"width: 150px;\">Show Answer<\/label>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"answer\" id=\"PQ-2-spoiler\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<strong>Answer:<\/strong><div style=\"margin-left:10px;\"><p>The future perfect tense is formed by combining the word <em>will<\/em>, the word <em>have<\/em>, and the past participle in order to express an action that began in the past and will be completed before some point in the future. In this case, the words <em>will<\/em> and <em>have<\/em> are combined with the past participle <em>finished<\/em>, creating a sentence that uses the future perfect tense.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<input id=\"PQ-2-hide\" type=\"checkbox\" class=\"spoiler_button\" \/><label for=\"PQ-2-hide\" style=\"width: 150px;\">Hide Answer<\/label>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"PQ\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<strong>Question #3:<\/strong>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div style=\"margin-left:10px;\"><p>&nbsp;<br \/>\nWhich verb tense is being used in the following sentence?<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Because of the cold temperatures, she had decided to stay indoors.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"PQ-Choices\"><div class=\"PQ correct_answer\"  id=\"PQ-3-1\">Past perfect<\/div><div class=\"PQ\"  id=\"PQ-3-2\">Present perfect<\/div><div class=\"PQ\"  id=\"PQ-3-3\">Future perfect<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<input id=\"PQ-3\" type=\"checkbox\" class=\"spoiler_button\" \/><label for=\"PQ-3\" style=\"width: 150px;\">Show Answer<\/label>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"answer\" id=\"PQ-3-spoiler\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<strong>Answer:<\/strong><div style=\"margin-left:10px;\"><p>The past perfect tense is formed by combining the word <em>had<\/em> and the past participle in order to express an action that began in the past and was completed in the past before something else occurred. In this case, the word <em>had<\/em> is combined with the past participle <em>decided<\/em>, creating a sentence that uses the past perfect tense.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<input id=\"PQ-3-hide\" type=\"checkbox\" class=\"spoiler_button\" \/><label for=\"PQ-3-hide\" style=\"width: 150px;\">Hide Answer<\/label>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"PQ\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<strong>Question #4:<\/strong>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div style=\"margin-left:10px;\"><p>&nbsp;<br \/>\nWhich of the following sentences is written in the present perfect tense?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"PQ-Choices\"><div class=\"PQ\"  id=\"PQ-4-1\">I will have finished all of my homework by then.<\/div><div class=\"PQ\"  id=\"PQ-4-2\">I had finished all of my homework by then.<\/div><div class=\"PQ correct_answer\"  id=\"PQ-4-3\">I have finished all of my homework.<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<input id=\"PQ-4\" type=\"checkbox\" class=\"spoiler_button\" \/><label for=\"PQ-4\" style=\"width: 150px;\">Show Answer<\/label>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"answer\" id=\"PQ-4-spoiler\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<strong>Answer:<\/strong><div style=\"margin-left:10px;\"><p>In this case, the words <em>have<\/em> and <em>finished<\/em> are the clues that tell you this sentence is written in the present perfect tense. The homework is something that was started in the past, but is completed now.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<input id=\"PQ-4-hide\" type=\"checkbox\" class=\"spoiler_button\" \/><label for=\"PQ-4-hide\" style=\"width: 150px;\">Hide Answer<\/label>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"PQ\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<strong>Question #5:<\/strong>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div style=\"margin-left:10px;\"><p>&nbsp;<br \/>\nHow would you change the following sentence so that it is written in the past perfect tense:<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Jim will have taught school for 15 years by then.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"PQ-Choices\"><div class=\"PQ\"  id=\"PQ-5-1\">Change <em>will have taught<\/em> to <em>did teach<\/em><\/div><div class=\"PQ correct_answer\"  id=\"PQ-5-2\">Change <em>will have taught<\/em> to <em>had taught<\/em><\/div><div class=\"PQ\"  id=\"PQ-5-3\">Change <em>will have taught<\/em> to <em>will teach<\/em><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<input id=\"PQ-5\" type=\"checkbox\" class=\"spoiler_button\" \/><label for=\"PQ-5\" style=\"width: 150px;\">Show Answer<\/label>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"answer\" id=\"PQ-5-spoiler\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<strong>Answer:<\/strong><div style=\"margin-left:10px;\"><p>Changing <em>will have taught<\/em> to <em>had taught<\/em> will change the sentence to be written in the past perfect tense: Jim had taught school for 15 years by then. This is saying that Jim taught school for 15 years in the past, which happened before something else.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<input id=\"PQ-5-hide\" type=\"checkbox\" class=\"spoiler_button\" \/><label for=\"PQ-5-hide\" style=\"width: 150px;\">Hide Answer<\/label>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"home-buttons\">\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mometrix.com\/academy\/writing\/\">Return to Writing Videos<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Return to Writing Videos<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":186626,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":{"0":"post-7841","1":"page","2":"type-page","3":"status-publish","4":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"page_category-video-pages-for-study-course-sidebar-ad","7":"page_category-writing-videos","8":"page_type-video","9":"content_type-practice-questions","10":"subject_matter-english"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mometrix.com\/academy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7841","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mometrix.com\/academy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mometrix.com\/academy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mometrix.com\/academy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mometrix.com\/academy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7841"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.mometrix.com\/academy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7841\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":279286,"href":"https:\/\/www.mometrix.com\/academy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7841\/revisions\/279286"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mometrix.com\/academy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/186626"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mometrix.com\/academy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7841"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}